PUDUCHERRY: Welfare Minister M Kandasamy’s brother and three others were sentenced to life imprisonment on Tuesday for murdering a farmer at Pillayarkuppampet near here.
Subramanian (55) was murdered on October 27, 2008, due to enmity between two groups — one comprising supporters of Kandasamy and another of former minister P Rajavelu. The murder took place when Kandasamy’s younger brother Balu, panchayat councillor Veerappan and others went to the house of Subramanian in search of his son Arivazhagan. As they could not find Arivazhagan there, they engaged in a heated exchange with the farmer. This eventually led to ransacking of the house and stabbing of Subramanian by Balu’s group.
Following the incident, police registered a case against 17 accused. When the case came up for hearing before III Additional District Judge E M K S Siddharthar on Tuesday, he sentenced Balu, Veerappan, Somu alias Sambasivam and Mahendran to life imprisonment. Another 13 persons were sentenced to seven years rigorous imprisonment. A fine ranging between `1,000 and `25,000 was also imposed.
The judge also ordered that if sufficient it was found that compensation should be paid for damaging the house, it should be paid out of the fine collected at the rate of `10,000 each. The remaining would be treated as fine.